“As a student with an LD, my biggest fear in high school was raising my hand in class, and not knowing the answer. But now, especially when I meet with my PAL advisor, I have more confidence and I feel like I'm more prepared to participate in class.”

PAL Faculty News

Dr. Maria Bacigalupo, an elected member of the National AAUP Council, was selected to help negotiate the National AAUP staff-union contract in Washington, DC. She also serves as the Secretary to the AAUP Foundation and is running unopposed for her second term as District X Representative to the Council in spring 2015.

Dr. Patty Kean was a guest facilitator at the Hutchins Dialogue Center at Sonoma State University, CA. Her topic was titled, "Are You Racist: How Race Trumps Rationality in the United States." She will also be presenting a workshop at the June 2015 Postsecondary Disability Training Institute being held in Boston titled, "Who Am I and How am I Doing?" with a focus on identity formation and self-regulation.

Senior Lecturer George Herman's artwork was exhibited this winter at the Painting Center in New York City and at Three Stones Gallery in West Concord, MA. The Linden Street Gallery at Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary in Boylston, MA is the setting for his next exhibit opening June 6, 2015 and on display through the summer.

A book review by Dr. Laurie Fox will appear the May 2015 journal The Educational Therapist, vol. 36, no. 1. It is on "Bright Kids Who Can't Keep Up: Help Your Child Overcome Slow Processing Speed and Succeed in a Fast-Paced World" by Drs. Ellen Braaten and Brian Willoughby. Dr. Fox has also had two book reviews published in recent editions of the journal The Educational Therapist. They include one for Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow 35(1) and How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character 35(2) by Paul Tough.

Senior Lecturer Lori Lubeski presented her memoir work in April 2015 at The Popular Culture of America annual conference in New Orleans as well as in December at Lyric Hall in New Haven, CT. Additionally, her newest poetry publication is in January's Let the Bucket Down, a magazine of Boston area writing.

PAL Professors Paula Cocce and Nancy Winburypresented a workshop entitled The Road to College Success: Essential Readiness & Transition Factors for Students with LD, ADHD, &/or Executive Function Disorder at the November 2014 conference sponsored by the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) in Orlando. Dr. Winbury will participate in a panel presentation showcasing several colleges with programs for students with learning differences, and both professors will join Curry admission representatives who will host a reception for consultants at the conference.

Drs.Lynn Abrahams, Patty Kean and Janis Petershosted a dinner and discussion called Culture Shock for students in the Program for Advancement of Learning who live outside the New England area. It was a community-building evening in November 2014 sponsored by the PAL Student Events Committee.

Dr. Janis Peterswill be presenting her dissertation research on "Transition Skills of First Year College Students with Learning Disabilities" at the New England Regional Black Nurses Association annual conference in Norwood, MA in May 2015.

Associate Professor Michelle Gabow's book, God Is a Dog: Lost & Found In Paris, will be available in December 2014 via hardback, paperback, and e-book at Lulu Press and Amazon. It is a collection of short stories, both fiction and creative non-fiction, exploring the fairytale in the ordinary, the re-membering of passion in grief, and the hidden found when lost in the streets of Paris.

Diane S. Webber, Ph.D. presented her research at the 21st National Conference on Students in Transition in October 2014 in Denver, Colorado. Her presentation was titled Students with Learning Disabilities in Transition to College: Challenges, Rewards, and Supports. The National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition serves as the trusted expert, internationally recognized leader, and clearinghouse for scholarship, policy, and best practices for postsecondary student transitions into college and through graduation.

Apply to PAL

Apply today to be a part of a structured support program providing assistance to bright, college-able students with specific learning disabilities and/or AD/HD.

Video: The PAL Program

Students, alumni and faculty share success stories and discuss the advantages of the PAL program at Curry College.